The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1887-10-04

GambOl like dancing Skill
Not the less he loves his haven
On the bosom OF the cid.
If almost with eagle pinion
o e. the Alps the chamOis roam,
Yet he has some small dominion
Which, nodoubt, he calls his home
But the Crown Prince of all heavenly do
minion has less than the raven, less than the
chamois, for he was homeless. Aye, in the
history of the universe there is no other in
stance of such coming down. Who can count
the miles from the top OF the throne
to the bottom of the cross? Cleopatra, giving
a banquet to Antony, took pearl worth a
hundred thousand dollars and dissolved it in
vinegar and swallowed it. But when GU
Prince, according to the evangelist, in His last
hours took the vinegar, in it had been dissolv-
ed all the pearls of His heavenly royalty.
Down until there was no other depth for Him
to touch, troubled until there was no other
harassment to suffer, poor until there was no
other pauperism to torture. Billions of dollars
spent III wars to destroy men, who will furnish
the statistics of the value of that precious
blood that was shed to save us? I'VE know
the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that,
though He was rich, yet for your sakes He
became poor"
Only those who study this text in two places
can fully reach its power, the Holy Land of
Asia Minor and the holy land OF heaven. How
l should like some day to take a drink out of
Jacobs well, and take a sail on Galiee, and
read the Sermon on the Mount while standing
on Olivet, and see the wilderness where Christ
was tempted, and be some afternoon on Cal
vary at about 5 o'clock, the hour at which
closed the cruCifXion, and sit under the syca-
mores by the side of the brooks, and think and
dream and pray about the poverty of Him
who came our souls to save But you and
l will probably be denied that, and
so here, in another continent and
i'll another hemisphere, and in scenes as differ
ent as possible, we recount as well as we may
how poor our heavenly prince became. And in
the other holy land above we may all study the
richos that He left behind when he started for
earthly expedition Come, let us bargain to
meet each other at the door of the Fathers
mansion, or on the bank of the river just
where it rolls from under the throne, or at the
outside gate. Jesus got the contrast by ex-
changing that world for this; we will get it by
exchanging this world for that. There and
then you will understand more of the wonders
of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, who,
Though he was rich, yet for your sakes be-
came poor
Yes, grace, free grace, sovereign grace, ON
nipotent grace. Among the thousands of
words in the language there is no more queen
ly word. 1t means free end unmerited kind
ness. My text has no monopoly of the word.
One hundred and twenty-nine times does the
Bible eulogize grace. 1t is a door swung wide
open to let into the pardon of God all the mil
lions who choose to enter it.
John Newton sang of it when he wrote:
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like mel
Philip Doddridge put it into all hymnology
when he wrote:
"Grace It's charming sound,
Harmonious to the ear;
Heaven with the echo shall resound,
And all the world shall hear"
One of John Bunyan's great books is enti-
tied Astounding Grace" 1T is all OF grace
that am saved' has been on the lips of hun
dreds of dying Christians. The boy Sammy
was right when, being examined for admission
into church membership, he was asked
"Whose work was your salvation?" and he
answered: part mine and part Gods"
part did you do. sammy" and
the answer was: Il opposed God all could, and
he did the restr' o the height of it, the
depth of it, the length of it, the breadth of it,
the grace of God! Mr.. Fletcher having writ
ten a pamphlet that pleased the king, the king
offered to compensate him, and Fletcher an
swered: There is only one thing want and
that is more grace" Yes, my blood-bought
hearers, grace to live by and grace to die by.
Grace that saved the publican, that saved
Lydia, that saved the dying thief, that saved
the tailor. that saved me. But the riches of that
grace will not be fully understood until heav-
en- breaks in upon the soul. An old Scotch
man, who had been soldier in
one of the European wars, was sick and dying
in one of our American hospitals. His one de-
sire was to see Scotland and his old home and
once again walk the neither of the Highlands,
and hear the bagpipes of the Scotch regiments.
Young man, somewhat reckless but kind-heart-
ed cot a company OF musicians to come and
play under the old soldiers window, and
among the instruments there was a bagpipe.
The instant that the musicians began the dy-
ing old man in delrium said:
whats that what's that? Why it's
the regiments coming home. That's the time.
YES, that's the tune Thank God l have got
home once morel" "Bonny Scotland and Bon
nv Doom. )" were the last words he uttered as he
passed up to the highlands of the better coun-
try. And there are here today hundreds home
sick for heaven, some because you have so
mgnv bereavements, some because you have so
many temptations, some because you have so
many ailments, homeSick, very homesick, for
the fatherland OF heaven, and the music that
Won want TO hear now is the song of free grace,
and the music YOU want 10 hear when you die
is free grace. and forever before the throne of
God Won will sing OF the "grace Of our Lord
Jesus Christ. who though he was rich for your
saScS became poor"
Yes, YES: Tor Your sakes, u was not on
pleasure excursion that He came, for it was
ali pain Ii was not on an astronomical eX-
ploration for He knew this world as well be-
fore he alighted as afterwards. 1t WAS not be-
cause lie was compelled 10 come, for He vol
untcered. 1t was not because It was easy, for
He knew that it would be thorn and spike,
and hunger and thirst. and vociferation of
,,nhe E',v ypfrr sakpsf NINA away